BlakChamber

The Spartans have a lot of things going for them. The QB controversy that costs us some games last year is over. The WR, TE and LB groups are as good as maybe any group in the conference. There's no breakout star at RB but everyone is talented and will contribute. The biggest question is the secondary that got rocked on a regular basis last year. They have to improve. MSU also should a favorable schedule, with a Michigan-like 8 home games. No OSU. Penn State has a lot of new players and no one is quite sure what they'll be like. Iowa on the road and Wisky at home won't be easy. Otherwise there isn't anyone on the schedule the Spartans shouldn't beat. Doesn't always mean they will, but Dantonio has done a good job of getting rid of the Same Old Spartans mentality. This isn't a make or break year for him, but another repeat of last year and people will start to wonder if he really is the right guy. Here's how I see the schedule. Western W Florida Atlantic W Notre Dame W Welcome to the big time, Kelly. MSU wins in a shootout, exorcising the ghosts of 2006 Northern Colorado W Wisconsin L John Clay runs all over MSU @ Michigan W Dickrod's seat is so warm his pants are on fire Illinois W @ Northwestern L Same Old Spartans rears it's ugly head @ Iowa L Minnesota W Purdue W @ Penn State L 8-4 should get the Spartans back to a NYD bowl game.

The Sam Adams Octoberfest uses the same hops as the Boston Lager, although they probably use a smaller amount. Oktoberfest beers should only have between 20 - 28 IBUs. I believe the SA Octoberfest does do a late hop addition which would make them a little more bitter than a typical Octoberfest, but they're nothing that a person would consider too hoppy, even for a BMC drinker. For comparison, Dog Fish Head's 60 min IPA is around 60 IBUs. SNPA has 37 IBUs, Boston Lager would be around 35. The SNPA has much more of the hop flavor (IMO) because of the Cascades they use.

I think it's a fall beer, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

Ugh. I was not a fan of the Kellerweiss at all. But, I prefer American style wheats over the Euro style, so I'm not surprised I didn't like it. Now the SN Torpedo IPA on the other hand, that's some good stuff. I'd say Abita and St. Arnold are probably the brands I'm most loyal to. It would be Bell's and Founders, but sadly I can't get them here

I've been a fan of his since watching him play at MSU. Glad to see him catching on with the Wings

I think two very important college coaches have been left out of this poll; Ron Mason and Red Berenson. Red has a 20 year tournament streak going, 10 Frozen Four appearances and 2 national championships. Mason had a 21 year tournament streak with 7 Frozen Fours and 2 appearances in the Championship game with 1 championship. The two of them combined have a ton of CCHA and GLI championships, I don't know the exact numbers. While they were both coaching, the CCHA was always MSU and UM fighting for 1st place with everyone else fighting for 3rd. Personally (and I'm going to get blasted for this because I'm a Spartan) Bo was overrated. Yeah, he cleaned up in the regular season when the Big 10 was the Big 2 and Little 8. BFD. He never won a national championship and was 5-12 in bowls. At least Carr was 6-7 in bowls and has UM's only half-national championship since the 40's. Yost may have won a lot, but his national championships are the back-dated, self-awarded type and from a time where colleges would play high schools and get to count the victories. It's tough to compare what he did to the rest of the coaches that we're talking about. As much as I love Izzo, Scotty is the best coach in MI sports history. Looking at his career as a whole he's one of the best coaches every in any sport. Even just comparing what he did in his time with the Red Wings, it still makes him the best this state has ever seen. A record of 410-193-107-10, never having a losing season, never missing the playoffs, never finishing lowering than 2nd in the division, 4 conference championships and 3 Stanley Cups. And doing all that in just 9 seasons. Izzo isn't there yet. He still needs another championship or 2 before he can take the title of best coach in MI sports history away from Scotty.

New year, new thread. Conversation piece for the offseason. Big 10 expansion and championship game. JoePa is apparently for it. Just a guess, but those couple of people would be Michigan and Ohio State, who wouldn't want anything to get in the way of their precious game. I'd like to throw out three topics for discussion. 1: Should the Big 10 expand? 2: Who should the 12th team be? 3: If so, how should the teams be aligned? 1: Yes it should, for the reasons that JoePa outlined. The Big 10 basically ends their season two-three weeks before everyone else. In addition, the NCAA needs 12 teams in a conference for that conference to have a championship game. The NCAA could grant a waiver and let the Big 10 do a championship game with only 11 teams, but the ACC tried that a few years ago and the NCAA didn't go for it. In the interest of keeping the Big 10 in discussion when the rest of the conferences are still playing games and being talked about, the Big 10 needs to add a team and add a conference championship game. 2: Notre Dame is the obvious answer. They have location, history, and acedemics. They also have their fat TV contract with NBC. So Notre Dame is a no go. Let's just leave them out of the conversation. Some possible schools I've seen mentioned repeatedly are Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt, Louisville, and Missouri. Louisville and Missouri can probably be taken off the list. Louisville doesn't have the academics and Missouri probably wouldn't want to give up their rivalry with Kansas. Cuse is a small private school without much of a TV market. It's like Northwestern, but without the Chicago TV market. Pitt and Rutgers are both good possibilites. Both are on par with the Big 10 in terms of size and academics. Pitt could get their rivalry with Penn State going again. Rutgers and Penn State could probably get a rivalry going. Both are in large TV markets as well. Rutgers probably has the better football program right now, but their basketball program isn't very good. I would be happy with either one in the Big 10. 3: How to split everyone up. Here would be my geographic breakdowns. North/South North: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Iowa. South: Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Penn State, Pitt/Rutgers. East/West East: Penn State, Pitt/Rutgers, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana. West: Purdue, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois. Looking at the two of those, North/South is probably more evenly balanced. Each team would play 5 games against their division, 3 games against the other division, with one protected game, and 4 non-conference games. To use Michigan as an example, their schedule could look like: GVSU UMass Notre Dame Michigan School for the Blind Minnesota Indiana (rotating game) MSU Iowa Penn State (rotating game) Wisonsin Northwestern Ohio State (protected game) [come on, I couldn't go a whole post without a shot at Michigan ] With making one team in the other division a protected game, it keeps Michigan and Ohio State happy. OK, I've written way too much. This is what happens when I don't have enough to do at work. Thoughts?

The westside of the state might be able to support a team. A new arena would have to be built first though. Van Andel only holds around 10,000 or so. That being said, it is unlikely MI would or could support a second team, even if there was a decent economy. I also think some of you are vastly overestimating how much the state cares about the Wings. Yes, we definitely have one of the best fanbases in hockey. But I'd argue in MI, the Wings rank behind the Lions and Tigers, and probably UM and MSU football.

What a surprise that TCU and BSU end up playing each other. This prevents a Utah/Bama or BSU/Oklahoma type of upset. And the BCS supporters can cheapen the victory of whoever wins by saying, "well, they only beat the other mid-major." Bulls***. As he's suggested for the last few years, Wetzel has the best playoff plan. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news...o&type=lgns The history and tradition of the bowls doesn't matter much anymore. Some of the old bowls such as the Sun and Cotton have been relegated to second tier status thanks to the BCS. Other's, like the Peach have completely lost their name thanks to corporate sponsorship while the Rose and other big ones just had their names bastardized. Every other level of NCAA football and every other college sport can effectively run a playoff system. March Madness is one of the best sporting events in the country. Why? Because you never know what can happen. Think of how much other sports would suck if they followed the BCS model. Why have the Stanley Cup? Just let the computers decide who the best team is and do a best of 7. Or maybe we could let computers decide the MLB playoffs. So we'd never get the thrilling World Series run the Tigers had. We need a playoff.

Not even close. The morons who thought this team would go 11-1 are getting antsy. So are the people who have somehow have forgotten the trainwreck that Bobby and JLS turned this program into. Dantonio has the full support of President Simon, AD Hollis and Tom Izzo. Now, it was a disappointing season, no doubt about it. But Dantonio is trying to build a program, not just have a couple good seasons. Last year, the Spartans won the close games. This year they lost some close ones. Last year they could have easily been 6-6 and this year they could have easily been 9-3. The biggest problem is the lines, both offense and defense. It wasn't a position that JLS recruited very well at. And while Dantonio has done some good recruiting in the trenches, it takes a while for linemen to develop.

What's the worst that can happen? They could not win any big ten games. I mean, DickRod has only won 3 in the two years he's been there. So, rough weekend for everyone... Alleged fight involving MSU football players UM football player allegedly arrested in sexual assault Jimmy Clausen punched outside of bar

BYU, Clemson and Utah. And BYU and Clemson were on the road. Which is better competition than Boise has faced. TCU has a strength of schedule of 25 while Boise's is 85. So, exciting football season eh? MSU was frustrating, but I wasn't one of the morons who thought MSU would go 11-1 or something similar. I had said 8-4. We probably should have beat CMU and Notre Dame, but those are the breaks. There's a lot to be excited about. Cousins is going to be a stud and go down as one of the best QB's in MSU history once his career is done. The RBs and WRs are good as well. Greg Jones will probably be back. Dantonio has been doing a lot of recruiting for both lines, but it takes time for those players to develop. I think 2011 could be a big season for MSU. Even with the disappointing season, the key is making the bowl and getting the extra practices, especially when you have a young team like MSU. Of course, as Michigan proved this year, all that extra practice doesn't always translate into wins. So how about it, Michigan fans? Are you enjoying the Callahaning of the winningest football program ever, or are you still "all in?"

Once again, LGW showing that the Wings have the classiest fanbase in the NHL.

I would have thought starting the season between 20-25 would be where MSU will be. But, losing the starting QB and RB will do that. This is an easy schedule for MSU and they really need to take advantage of it. No OSU along with Penn State at home. I hate the Montana State game, nothing good comes from playing 1AA teams. If you win, BFD. If you lose...you're just F'd. At Wisconsin is probably the toughest road game. South Bend has been Spartan Stadium South for a while now. MSU should be the clear favorites in all games except for 3 (IMO). Penn State is a clear favorite and Iowa and Illinois will be toss ups. I'd say no better than 7-5 and no worse than 9-3. While LeFevour will cause some problems, I think MSU's defense will be enough, especially if the Spartans can get some pass rush going. Coaching wise, I expect to see Dantonio air it out more, similar to his first season. The WR's each have a year under their belt and there doesn't appear to be a Ringer-like workhorse. They key is going to be to STOP ******* DROPPING THE BALL Sorry, flashbacks to the last 10 years of MSU football.

Michigan will give him as long as it takes for the big money donars to stop sending money. I realize it's just one season, but I don't see how you can say it's been anything other than a disaster so far. Look at the highlights. First losing season since the 60's Ending the nation's longest streak for bowl games at 33 or 34 First loss to MSU since 2001 and first loss in Ann Arbor in 18 years First loss to PSU in 12 years First loss ever to a MAC team. In Ann Arbor to 3-9 Toledo. And beating UM wasn't even enough for the Rockets coach to keep his job. First 9 loss team in school history And that's just on the field. There's also, Submitting his resignation to WVU via grad assistant Contacting Pryor on a WVU cell phone during a dead period The lawsuit against WVU. Almost getting Martin and the UM president (her name escapes me at the moment) deposed I don't follow recruiting, I know on Spartantailgate there's a good list of players who have either transferred or decommitted. How about losing Beaver, the 4th best RB in the state of Texas, to Tulsa? That's not losing a player to OSU or Florida, that's losing the 4th best RB from one of the best football states in the country, to a Conference USA team. At least several of the players leaving haven't had good things to say about RR. While I agree with you that the jury is obviously still out on his long term success in Whoretown, last year was a disaster. Hell, last year would be a disaster even by MSU standards. Now, I know the argument, just wait until he gets his players here. You know who else used to say that? Spartan fans (myself included) about JLS. And DickRod is a better coach than JLS. As far as using someone else's players, Slappy came in with the spread, took at team of Saban/Bobby players and went to a bowl after Bobby had a losing record. Then Dantonio came in, took a bunch of JLS spread offense recruits and went to a bowl game after switching to more of a pro-style offense. It comes down to coaching. RichRod better hope that Forcier is the second coming of Pat White, and not the second coming of Sam McGuffie.

You must not have been around for the Legace goalie wars.

Meh, if he ends up leaving, I'll get over it. ... OK, I'm over it.

First off, that is a great blog name Second, I think Wombat's post is spot on. The blogger actually does make a few decent points, but I don't think he's looking a the big picture of Detroit's success. Of course, any point he makes get lost on all the Sensitive Sallys who freak out anytime something remotely negative is said about the Wings.

I hope you're joking. And pass on the other free agents as well.

There's someone in East Lansing who is looking foward to meeting Tate... Greg Jones...he's a baaaaaaaaaad man...

Not surprising at all that Hossa left and took the big payday. He put off cashing in to come sign with the Wings for a year. It was extremely foolish to take another paycut.

Just because you made the trade in NHL 09 doesn't mean it's a good idea in real life. Hell, you shouldn't have made this trade on the Xbox either.

Great post

I'm not trying to argue that players won't take a paycut to be a Red Wing because that clearly isn't the case. I'm saying I think there's a mentality among a lot of people on the board that if a player wants to be a Red Wing, he should take whatever the offer is and like it, since he's getting the grand and glorious honor of being a Wing.

Why should I trust you? Are you and Winter friends and he tells you about his contract negotiations? Maybe you and Hossa? Or are you a psychic and you can read his mind? Please, if you have any insight gained from your close relationship with Winter and/or Hossa, please share it. As far as influencing Hossa, Winter is going to tell Hossa how much he thinks he's worth on the open market. If he doesn't, he's not doing his job. But the Wings aren't offering Hossa contract with a cap hit of 3 million and Winter is hiding it from him. I realize the prevailing thought on LGW around this time of the year is that every player in the NHL wants to play for the Red Wings, and because the Wings are such a first rate organization, they should take whatever money the members of LGW deem an appropriate price to play for Detroit. And, that if the player doesn't sign immediately for the board-appropriate salary, there must be some kind of sinister, outside influence. Because we all know that person would sign for the league-minimum just to play for the Wings.